Blog for those who are interested in Czech genealogy, who have ancestors in Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Czech first names

Translation of Czech first names into English is often discussed topic. There are some name which are easy to translate, as Anna, Jan or Zuzana, but there are also other names where translation is not so clear – the most common example is the name Václav, which is widely discussed (there are currently four different names used for translation of name Václav – all of them are based on the immigration records).

Sometimes our ancestors themselves were those who brought the confusion into the usage of different translations of first names. They had a common Czech name but used unusual English translation which led to misunderstanding. If you find out such case, don't hesitate to contact me for explanation.

If you are directly researching Czech parish registries, it must be taken into account that the forms of names used there are often different from those which were used in common language. Czech registries were written in three different languages – Czech, Latin and German. This leads to another risk of confussion, even in case where Latin or German version is very similar to the English one. That's why the Latin and German translation was added to all names.

My great-grandmother listed her father's name on her marriage record in the U.S. as Albert, so I knew I had the correct record when her birth record gave her father as "Votech". I am now searching for another of my great-grandmothers who came from Bohemia.

Thank you for the new perspective on Czech first names. I always assumed Vaclav was "James" and Jakub was "Jacob", Alois became "Louis" because that is how OUR families translated the Czech names when they immigrated to the U.S. from many areas in Bohemia. Your posts have opened my eyes. A name frustration for me is how to figure out the rules for the feminine endings on surnames. -- mgk

A tradition developed among Czech immigrants to America to replace Vaclav with James, despite the fact that there is no historical or lingusitic connection between those two names. It was just that Vaclav was preceived as unusual in America and had no ranslation used as a firstname by Americans (the equivalents are Wenceslaus of the Christmas carol or Wendel, from the Germanized Wenzel). And James was very acceptable in America but did not already correspond to any Czech firstname. So it was a convenient substitution. James was available, because it is a uniquely English name, becoming common when the creators of the King James Bible substituted the king's name for the original Jacob everywhere in the text.

Albert/Vojtech is very different. It derives from an early Christian missionary named Adalbert, the Germanic form of the Enlish/French Albert. A protege of his had the very Slavic name Vojtech. When Adalbert died, Vojtech took his name to honor him. Vojtech eventually became one of the first bishops of Prague and carried on Adalbert's missionary work, converting the boy who would become King St. Steven of Hungary. So the Adalbert/Vojtech name is common throughout Central Europe. Interestingly, among the Magyars of today's Hungary the same name is Bela.

(Sorry for the confused postings. My first attempt to post returned a "503 Service Unavailable" message so I posted again. Then, when I saw that both posts succeeded, I deleted the first, but not before you had replied. My goodness, you are quick!)

Thanks for the reply. I had considered every other letter except G.

Congratulations on your blog. I just discovered it today and it is a great resource. Congratulations also on your new daughter.

In researching my ancestors from Loštice, I came across the name Birzik, which was a common name for men in that town in the mid-1600's. Later it seems to disappear altogether. In what I think is the marriage record of his daughter, his name is listed as Jirzik, which I presume translates as George. Could Birzik be another form of the name Jirzik?

I'm curious if you know of similar translations for town names. The passenger list I have from Bremen, Germany says my ancestors came from "Zugice" (or possibly Lugice) but I can't figure out where this is.

Such a helpful list! I was researching Bohemian ancestors yesterday and found my great-grand-uncle James listed as Vaclav on a passenger list. I thought maybe I had the wrong family and would have to start over from scratch. Your blog came to the rescue! Fascinating stuff. Thanks for posting!

What about abbreviated middle names in the Hamry area of Klatovy, Pilsen? I am running across quite a few called Karl Bor. or Karl Borv. or Karl Borg. before the surname. A few are spelled out and looks like Borvenuvs or Borvenre. There are also many called Johann Baptist then the Surname.

Sometimes saints names were given to boys. For Example, Karl Borromeo Aschenbrenner was named after St, Charles Borromeo. Other examples are: Johann Baptist Beierl named for St, John the Baptist, as well as Johann Nepomuk Kollross named after St. John Nepomuk. Those middle names were usually abbreviated to Bor., Nep., and Bap. in the baptismal records of 1800-1850 in and around Eisenstrass (Hojsova Straz) and Hammern (Hamry), in Klatovy Pilzen.